Road Safety

This report examines safety at passive railway crossings in Australia, in response to a request from the Australian Transport Council. It is estimated that there are 6,000 railway crossings in Australia without active systems to signal the approach of a train, and there is currently no cost-effective method of converting these to active crossings. The project involved the collection and collation of information on State policies, guidelines and initiatives relating to passive railway crossings with the aim of identifying best practice solutions to reducing collision risk at passive railway crossings. The project notes that Australia has a lower population rate of collisions at passive railway crossings than other comparable countries. It makes a number of recommendations including improved data collection and better linkages between existing road crash and rail crossing data systems, improved signage and road markings, train lighting and reflective materials, public education, proactive risk management, and further investigation of the potential for developing lower cost active treatments. The report concludes that passive railway crossings may not be appropriate on lines used by high-speed trains and recommends the wider use of active crossings on such lines. The report recommends guidelines for ensuring good practice in managing risk at passive railway crossings.